I-96 shooting suspect faces added terrorism and other charges

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette added a terrorism charge Thursday to the long list against the man suspected in the random October shooting spree that touched four Mid-Michigan counties.

Raulie Wayne Casteel, 43, is expected to be arraigned on that charge and others Dec. 27 at Livingston County’s 53rd District Court, said Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman Joy Yearout.

The charges filed previously in Livingston against Casteel were dismissed Thursday and replaced with the charges filed by Schuette’s office.

Yearout said that while the Attorney General’s Office was unsure whether to file the terrorism charge, an exhaustive review revealed that it was only appropriate.

“After reports of the shooting made their way through media, citizens changed their routes for everyday activities — from football games to taking their kids to school,” she said. “They were terrorized by this one dangerous individual.”

The terrorism charge is based on 21 attacks that occurred in Livingston, Shiawassee and Ingham counties. It is a felony that carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

In 2004, a Macomb prosecutor charged a Macomb High School student with terrorism for a plot to kill his classmates, said Yearout. The plot was foiled by police before the student could carry it out, but the student was convicted.

In addition, Casteel is charged with assault with intent to murder, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and three felony firearms charges.

In Oakland County, Casteel is charged with 60 different counts. Prosecutor Jessica Cooper is handling those charges.

He is expected to be arraigned on those charges after results of a court-ordered competency test come from the county, most likely after the first of the year, said Assistant Prosecutor Paul Walton.